President Donald Trump abruptly reversed plans Thursday to deploy federal troops to San Francisco, citing conversations with the city’s mayor and prominent technology executives who urged him to reconsider the controversial intervention.
The president announced the decision on social media, revealing that the federal government had been preparing to “surge” the city on Saturday before changing course. Trump said he received calls from tech industry leaders, including NVIDIA Corp. CEO Jensen Huang and Salesforce Inc. CEO Marc Benioff.
“The people of San Francisco have come together on fighting Crime,” Trump wrote. “Great people like Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, and others have called saying that the future of San Francisco is great. They want to give it a ‘shot.’ Therefore, we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday.”
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie confirmed speaking with the president and emphasized the city’s improving conditions. “I told him the same thing I told our residents: San Francisco is on the rise,” Lurie said. While welcoming continued collaboration with federal agencies such as the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Attorney’s Office, the mayor firmly opposed military presence, arguing that “having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery.”
The mayor stressed San Francisco’s importance as a global technology hub, telling Trump that “when San Francisco is strong, our country is strong.”
The proposed deployment had been under consideration since the summer, but gained momentum with initial support from influential business leaders. Earlier this month, Benioff told The New York Times he would support National Guard deployment. “We don’t have enough cops, so if they can be cops, I’m all for it,” he said.
However, just one day after Trump’s announcement, Benioff publicly reversed his position on social media platform X, apologizing for his earlier comments and declaring that National Guard intervention was unnecessary. Benioff’s reversal reflects broader tech industry sentiment favoring patience with San Francisco’s new leadership. Y Combinator’s Garry Tan echoed this position, saying, “Mayor Lurie and DA Jenkins are doing the work. Let them cook.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the president’s decision as pragmatic, explaining that Trump “heard from the mayor last night” and responded by saying, “OK, I’ll give you a chance. We’ll be watching. And if you need us, we are here.”
